There are so many high profile vegans these days, it seems everyone from Arnold Swarzenegger, Harrison Ford and Bill
Clinton are eschewing meat and dairy in favour of plant-based alternatives. Our most high profile vegan, Dame Patsy
Reddy, Governor-General, has been vegan since watching Forks Over Knives several years ago. She and her husband have
both experienced the health benefits of going dairy free after losing weight and clearing up chronic laryngitis and
sinusitis. They remain vegan for health and taste preferences.
Gareth Hughes, outgoing Green MP, took up our 21 day easy vegan challenge last year and has not looked back since. He
enjoys the taste and variety of plant-based cooking and says “My kids love parmesan on their pasta and I love Angel
Food's dairy-free parmesan, my favourite vegan product”
The science is proven, a wholefood plant-based diet is able to provide all the nutrients that any ages of humans need.
Many patients experience significant relief, even reversal from common complaints such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 2
diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, gout, Chrohn's Disease, IBS, not to mention that many people experience excess weight
loss and reduction of symptoms of anxiety. The wholefood plant-based diet has also been shown to prevent cancer,
Alzheimer's, PMT and cardio-vascular risk.
Dr Mark Craig said “from experience, many patients who remove dairy from their diet get very significant improvement and
even resolution of various symptoms. Common improvements are in acne, rhinitis (blocked/ runny noses) and sinusitis,
reduced migraine, heavy and painful periods, improved gut health, bloating and energy. People who remove high saturated
fat foods like animal meats, frequently experience dramatic improvements in blood fat levels (cholesterol,
triglycerides) and blood pressure, usually meaning they can reduce or come off their medications. We have no need for
dairy ingestion in our diet and whilst some people can apparently 'get away with' small amounts of it and not suffer
adverse consequences, many people do run into significant health problems eating dairy as a regular part of their diet.”
It's an inconvenient truth that the animals we spend so many resources on to turn into food for us to eat, are in fact
doing us no good at all. We are slowly destroying our planet to prop up our addiction to cheese, the most unhealthy of
the dairy products, which is instead slowly killing us, clogging up our arteries and making us more susceptible to
inflammatory illnesses. It's time to make the switch to a wholefood plant-based diet for Nutrition Month. The Vegan
Society is promoting our 21 day easy vegan challenge to help Kiwis trial a vegan diet and experience better health for
themselves. They can sign up now for information, advice, shopping tips, daily evening meal recipe, breakfast and lunch
ideas, meal planners – all you need to make a simple and easy transition to eating vegan. Www.tryvegan.org.nz